Please send your latest achievements including books published, research completed, honors received from professional organizations, fellowships awarded, oversight or development of service learning projects, and work with community organizations to Erica Videc at Erica.Videc@nyack.edu.

Please provide details (who, what, where, when, why) and the significance of news in relationship to our core values, where possible. High resolution digital photos that you can share for publication are welcome. (Please note: copy may be edited for length.)

The School of Education Receives Continued Accreditation

The School of Education was notified by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education that its accreditation has been continued without qualifications.

Social Work Receives CSWE Reaccreditation

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) has granted the reaffirmation to the BSW (Baccalaureate Social Work) program through February 2020. The accreditation process reviews program competencies, practice behaviors, evaluation procedures, and program activities and processes.

Approvals from the New York State Education Department

Dr. David Turk announced that the AS in Christian Work has been changed to the AA in Biblical Studies. A new degree, the MS/MAT in TESOL online, has been approved, making it the third online degree that the State has approved.

Religion and Social Work Conference hosted by the Department of Social Work

The Department of Social Work, along with the National Association of Social Work NYS Hudson Valley Division, will host a full-day conference entitled Religion and Social Work on June 8, 2012 from 8:30 AM until 3:30 PM. The conference will be held at Alliance Theological Seminary, 350 North Highland Avenue, Nyack, NY 10960.

The aim of this conference is to help social work professionals and students gain an understanding of the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian religions to better assist clients.

My relationship with Nyack College began in 1999 when a co-worker and former Nyack College student introduced me to Dr. Turk. I was hired to teach Philosophy of Christian Schools as an adjunct instructor for the Education Department.

What is your favorite Nyack College/ATS experience?

What I enjoy most about my job is the opportunity to directly affect the quality of life of my students by preparing teachers committed to serving children.

Favorite food:

I enjoy all types of cuisine--Spanish, Thai, French, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Indian. It is always a treat to taste new dishes from different cultures.

Latest interesting read:

Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper

Unknown talent or interesting fact about yourself:

I have been married for 35 years to a wonderful man, Carlos Velez. We have two children and five grandchildren. I love cooking and baking.

STAFF HIGHLIGHT:

Ms. Drusila Nieves, Director of Student Wellness Services

What brought you to Nyack College/ATS?

After working in the secular world for many years, I was ready for a change. I was seeking a workplace where I could integrate both my secular and spiritual training.

What is your favorite Nyack College/ATS experience?

It is difficult for me to select just one favorite Nyack College experience. Since I have so many, I will give you two. The first one is to see the lives of students be transformed at the end of each semester when they have completed their counseling process at the Counseling Services Department. The second one is to see the growth of the grad interns that I supervise at the end of each academic year. I feel like a very proud parent with an empty nest because I have had the privilege and opportunity to contribute positively to both the students' and grad interns' lives, and now they will touch someone else's life, too.

Favorite food:

My favorite food, as a Latina, is "arros con gandules y pernil."

Latest interesting read:

I just finished reading Mighty Prevailing Prayer by Wesley L. Duewel.

Unknown talent or interesting fact about yourself:

Some of my talents and interests are the following: I like to sketch with charcoal pencils; I like to swim at the YMCA; I love to cook; and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), currently enrolled in the doctoral program at Christian Leadership University.

COLLEGE OF BIBLE AND CHRISTIAN MINISTRY

Dr. Len Kageler

Dr. Kageler's book review of Lost in Transition: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood by Christian Smith et al, Oxford University Press, 2011 was published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 51:1 (March 2012).

Dr. Kageler conducted six hours of classroom lectures each at the University of Bristol, Nottingham, Cambridge, and Oxford on the topic of "Human Development in Children and Adolescence as it Relates to Leadership." He also made presentations in the Masters of Youth and Community program at Moorlands College, Christchurch, UK where he served as a co-faculty evaluator of four graduate level student oral seminars.

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND LEADERSHIP

Nyack's Institute for Public Service and Policy Development sponsored a Muslim-Christian Dialog at the School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University in April entitled "America Under Seige? Is Religion a Threat to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness?" Some of the panelists included: Wilmot Allen, political economist, television producer, and international banking consultant; Dr. Jonathan Brown, professor of Islamic Studies and Muslim Christian Understanding at Georgetown University; Richard Cizik, president of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good; Dr. Joan Orgon Coolidge, founder of the Marriage Project and faculty member at George Mason University's School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution; Maha Elgenaidi, founder and president of Islamic Networks Group; Dr. Sherman Jackson, King Faisal Chair in Islamic Thought and Culture and professor of Religion and American Studies and Ethnicity at USC; and Imam Magid, executive director of ADAMS Center and president of the Islamic Society of North America. Ambassador J. Douglas Holladay served as moderator.

Dr. Patricia Johnson

Dr. Johnson, Nyack DC associate dean, has been named a Fulbright Scholar and will teach law and leadership studies at Uganda Christian University in Mokono, Uganda, one of the top universities in Africa.

Dr. Johnson attended the 13th Annual International Leadership Association (ILA) Global Conference in London. More than 800 leadership scholars, practitioners, and educators from close to fifty countries attended this conference to present their finest research and scholarship, compelling ideas, best practices, newest teaching techniques, and unique stories from the field. Dr. Johnson presented her research during the poster session on the topic "Public Leadership, Private Faith: A Framework for Decision-making?"

SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Prof. Mary Carey

Prof. Carey, adjunct vocal instructor at the Nyack New York City campus, announced the great news that the Christ Tabernacle Choir led by her husband, Rev. Steve Carey, won a Dove Award for the song, "Hold On," in the Traditional Gospel Song of the Year category. The song is from the choir's latest CD, Change the Atmosphere. Prof. Carey is a conductor and soloist for the choir.

Drs. Joel and Shelley Jameson

Joel and Shelley Jameson produced a benefit concert at the Palace Theater in Manchester, NH in March. All proceeds from the concert benefited their friend, Linda Rainville, a recent recipient of a life-saving lung transplant, who has staggering medical expenses that have accumulated as well as the costs of ongoing treatments to support her recovery.

Dr. Tammy Lum

Dr. Lum, professor of music and Rockland County Music Teachers Guild member, presented a discussion at the Nyack Library "Head and Heart--in 15 minutes or 25 words!" in early May. Dr. Lum discussed the topic of preparing students to make music with head and heart in performance. She also shared the contents of her piano pedagogy program at Nyack College.

Dr. Lum is coordinator of the annual Hudson River Pianofest, an inspiring two-day program of piano master classes, lectures, workshops, and concerts given by world-class pianists and pedagogues. The 4th annual Hudson River Pianofest will be held on June 8-9 on the Rockland campus. For more information, click here.

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Arts and Sciences Faculty Participate in Scholars Symposium

The following faculty members from the College of Arts and Sciences participated in the Nyack Scholars Symposium New York City in April: Vilma Balmaceda, Ph.D.; Denise Hirschlein, Ph.D.(c); Amy Flavin, M.S.; Kim Huster, Ph.D.; Elaine Lux, Ph.D.; Raquel Reynoso, M.A.; and James Romaine, Ph.D.

The plenary session featured Dr. Theodore Roosevelt Malloch speaking on "Doing Virtuous Business." Dr. Malloch is a research professor and chair of the Spiritual Enterprise Institute, Center for Faith and Culture at Yale University.

Dr. Charles Awasu

Dr. Awasu published a paper in the African Journal of Education and Technology, Volume 1, Issue 3 (2011). His paper entitled "Prevailing Against the Odds of Dropping Out of Schools in Ghana" was co-written with Dr. Cynthia Akorfa Sottie, lecturer of social work at the University of Ghana. Dr. Awasu's paper entitled "Relational Transaction: The Social Dynamism of Informal Finance in Ghana" was published in the African Journal of Social Sciences, Volume 2, Issue 4 (2012).

Dr. Vilma Balmaceda

Dr. Balmaceda participated in the Global Summit of the Rule of Law Task Force in Sabadell, Barcelona. This gathering consisted of lawyers and professors of law and political science dedicated to the study of and action against corruption around the world. Her paper entitled "Judicial Reform Efforts in Latin America: Institutional and Other Challenges" examined the processes of judicial reform in Latin America.

Dr. Balmaceda was a guest lecturer in April for the Spring Lecture Series at the Nyack Library where she addressed the topic of "Restorative Justice: Confronting the Limitations of the Criminal Justice System."

Dr. James Danaher

Dr. Danaher published "The Problem of Evil from a Gospel Perspective" in the Evangelical Review of Theology, Volume 26, Issue 2 (April 2012). For more information, click here.

Dr. Jonathan Gates

Dr. Gates, together with student editors Audrey King and Elizabeth Kendrex, hosted the first gala and awards ceremony for art and photography entries published in the 2012 issue of Fine Print, Nyack's journal of literature and art. In addition to the opportunity to view the students' creative work on display, professional photographer and adjunct professor of photography at Nyack College, Mr. Andres Valenzuela, discussed the four essential elements of his creative process and illustrated his insights with photographs from his personal collection.

Dr. Sharron Greaves

Dr. Greaves presented four papers on African and African American topics entitled "English, Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa-Fulani: Multiple Language Accounts of Nigerian Culture via Nollywood Film" at Harvard University; "Of Girth and Guts: Interrogating the Revivification of the "Big Mama" Caricature on Contemporary Stages and Screens" at St. Lawrence College; "Strife, Survival, and Celebration: Twenty Years of Fires and Festivals in Crown Heights" at St. Francis College, Brooklyn, NY; and "Blue or Green?: The Bluest Eye, an Example of Adaptation for Edification vs. Dissemination for Profit" at the 35th Annual New Jersey College English Association.

Dr. Damaris-Lois Lang

Dr. Lang was a guest speaker at the Lehman College Biology Seminar Series. She shared her research on the neuroendocrine regulation of parental behavior in voles in her presentation, "Exploring Paternal Care in the Prairie Vole (Microtus ochrogaster)."

Professor Beverley Locke

Prof. Locke presented a paper at the National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing (NCPTW) at Florida International University. Prof. Locke's presentation, "Writing and Research Consultants: Including the Research Process in the Writing Session for Maximum Results," focused on maximizing the effectiveness of writing center appointments by including the research process in the writing session. She also discussed the collaborative model of the Nyack College Writing Center service levels designed to meet the needs of Nyack College students.

Dr. Mayra Lopez-Humphreys

Dr. Lopez-Humphreys is recognized as an associate editor in Volume 6, Issue 3 of The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. Her article, "Intergroup Dialogue: A Pedagogical Model for Integrating Cultural Competence within a Social Justice Framework," which examines intergroup dialogue, an innovative pedagogical model in teaching cultural competence and social justice principles and practices, was published in Volume 6, Issue 5 of this journal.

Dr. Elaine Lux

Dr. Lux presented a paper, "The Voice of Trauma: Narrative Healing in Jonathan Safron Foer," at St. Francis College, Brooklyn, NY. Jonathan Safran Foer is a contemporary novelist who lives in Brooklyn and has dealt with traumas in the WWII Holocaust, the 9/11 attacks, and the contemporary treatment of animals in factory farming. Approximately 30 Nyack students attended the conference and enjoyed the fine educational experience.

Professor Brad McDuffie

Prof. McDuffie published a book, Teaching Salinger's Nine Stories, by New Street Communications. He was a guest lecturer in March for the Spring Lecture Series at the Nyack Library where his presentation was an overview of the short-story cycle in literature and explored some of its major ideas, works, and themes.

Dr. Peter Park

Dr. Park published a paper in Current Zoology, a peer-reviewed zoology journal based in China. The paper entitled "Phenotypic Plasticity of the Threespine Stickleback Gasterosteus Aculeatus Telencephalon in Response to Experience in Captivity" was co-authored with Dr. Ivan Chase and Dr. Michael A. Bell, and is part of a special issue on ecology and the evolution of fishes.

Dr. Kevin Pinkham

Dr. Pinkham led a group of students from his Science Fiction class to Philcon 2011, the 49th Annual Science Fiction Convention, run by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society (PSFS). Started in 1936, Philcon features cutting-edge programming about literature, art, television, film, anime, comics, science, gaming, costuming, and other topics of interest to fans of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. The students were privileged to meet Cory Doctorow, one of the most important science fiction writers of the 21st century.

Dr. Pinkham also directed the spring play, The Knight of the Burning Pestle, by Francis Beaumont, a contemporary of William Shakespeare, with student director Brittany Wetherill.

Dr. Larry Poston

Dr. Poston presented a paper at the Annual Conference of the Evangelical Missiology Society, Northeast Region. The paper entitled "The Lecture Hall of Tyrannus: The Missionary Methodology of the Society of Jesus" examines the role of educational institutions such as those established by the Society of Jesus to spread the Gospel message worldwide.

Along with Stuart Guild, Dr. Poston presented a paper at the Northeast Chapter of the Evangelical Theological Society at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. The paper, "After the Love Has Gone: The Historical Effects of Revivalism," focuses on the historical reactions to the "Great Awakenings" revivalist movements and describes how such counter-revivals contributed to the secularization of American society.

Professor Raquel Reynoso

Prof. Reynoso presented a paper at the Study of Eugenics--Past, Present, and Future Conference at Uppsala University in Sweden entitled "'Para el Mejoramiento de la Raza': An In-depth Look at Eugenics and Hygiene in Mexico in the Early Twentieth Century."

Dr. James Romaine

Dr. Romaine was elected president of the board of directors of the Association of Scholars of Christianity in the History of Art (ASCHA). ASCHA is the leading academic association dedicated to the promotion of scholarship of the 2,000-year history of Christianity and the visual arts.

Dr. James Romaine was also the guest presenter in May for the Spring Lecture Series at the Nyack Library. He explored the insights of a recently published biography about van Gogh which stirs new debates about his life and art.

Dr. Jacqueline Washington

Congratulations to Dr. Washington for being named 2012 Professor of the Year by the College of Arts and Sciences!

Dr. Washington presented at the Council of Scientific Society Presidents workshop in Washington, DC on "The Role of Scientific Societies in STEM Faculty Workshops," where she represented the American Society for Microbiology Conference for Undergraduate Educators. Attendees, including keynote speaker Carl Weiman, focused on the development of faculty to improve undergraduate STEM education.

Dr. David Weir was elected to the board of trustees of the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, PA for a six-year term.

Dr. Keyone Kale Yu

Dr. Yu's paper "American Missionaries and the Korean Independence Movement in the Early 20th Century" was published in the Fall/Winter 2011 issue of the International Journal of Korean Studies (IJKS). The article investigates the intersection of militancy with Korean Christianity in the early twentieth century.

Dr. Yu also presented a paper at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian American Studies in Washington, DC. His paper entitled "Separatists and Accommodationists: The Problem of Ethnicity in the Korean and Asian American Church" examines the role of ethnicity and culture in the formation and life of faith communities.

Mr. Miller, executive director of community relations, will be inducted as president of the Nyack Rotary Club during a June 13 ceremony for the 2012-2013 officers. The ceremony will take place in Shuman Hall on the Nyack Rockland campus. Congratulations, Earl!

Rev. Walker, Nyack Rockland campus pastor, presented a lecture at Messiah College entitled "Bringing the Kingdom: One Spirit-led Issue at a Time" which addressed issues including socio-economic and educational injustice around the world, and what role individuals can play in addressing these issues. He also took part in a round table discussion group on continuing today's civil rights movement.

WELCOME TO NYACK'S SCHOOL OF NURSING!

The Nyack College community is pleased to welcome the following individuals to the School of Nursing:

Ms. Delta Gallo, Office Manager

Ms. Maureen Kroning, RN, Associate Professor of Nursing

Mr. Chris Hong, RN, Nursing Skills Lab Assistant

Ms. Grace Mathew, RN, Nursing Skills Lab Manager

NYACK WELCOMES NEW HEAD MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH

Mr. Jason Crafton, 2003 Nyack College alumnus, was announced as Nyack's head men's basketball coach. Crafton previously served as an assistant coach for seven years at the United States Naval Academy. He was elected to the role of associate head coach two seasons ago and played a vital role in the program's success. During his tenure, he assisted in all phases of the program along with serving as the head coach of the Junior Varsity team for seven seasons. In April 2011, Crafton was named by Basketball Times/Hoop Scoop as one of the top 50 mid-major assistant coaches.

The annual Nyack College faculty-staff luncheon was held on the Rockland campus on May 5. Each year, one member of the faculty and one member of the staff receive the Commitment to Missions Award. The 2012 faculty honor went to Prof. Miriam Velez and the staff honor was presented to Mrs. Wanda Alers.

The Nyack employee named Enrollment Services Associate of the Year was Nichole Knott-Craig. The Online Educator of the Year Award was received by Elaine Lux. The Nyack.edu Web Engagement Award went to Steven Phillips. The Student Financial Services Associate of the Year Award was presented to Rosanna Corchado. The Student Development Professional of the Year Award was received by Drusila Nieves. The Coach of the Year Award went to Keith Davie.

The Center wishes to express appreciation to all the applicants who submitted proposals and encourages all qualifying faculty to apply in the next academic year.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Don't Forget your Wellness Exam!

Nyack College continues to be committed to making worksite wellness an integral part of the institution's benefit offerings. We recognize that your health is crucial to both your personal well-being and the college's continued success.

According to data supplied by Aetna, less than 35% of Nyack's employees receive a Wellness Exam on an annual basis. Receiving your annual Wellness Exam is essential to understanding your current health status, preventing future health problems, and preventing current conditions from getting worse.

With this in mind, all employees who receive a Wellness Exam between September 1, 2011 and August 31, 2012 will continue to receive medical benefits with no required payroll deductions toward the monthly medical premium expense. Employees who do not receive a Wellness Exam during that period will pay 5% of the premium expense in payroll deductions beginning September 15, 2012. An estimated payroll deduction amount is $15 for single coverage and $38 for family coverage and will vary based on the upcoming renewal.

To continue receiving medical benefits without a payroll deduction:

(1) Schedule your Wellness Exam today,

(2) Download the Wellness Exam Certification Form at www.myusi.com and bring it with you to your appointment for both you and your physician to complete, and

(3) Return the completed form to Barb Shiffer, Human Resources, no later than August 31, 2012.

(Note: Nyack College will also verify your participation with a report from Aetna indicating employees who have received their Wellness Exam.)